Strike a ChordFall in Love
by wherehopelies
Summary: Clarke is the all too-serious bassist/song writer of a band called The Alliance, Octavia is the ROTC cadet percussionist, and Raven is the keyboardist/chemical engineer. And all they need is a badass guitarist (aka Lexa) to help them make it big. Guest starring band manager Bellamy Blake, Lincoln as Octavia's hot boyfriend, and Kyle Wick, annoying roommate/band sound engineer.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** This is chapters 1-4 because I hadn't originally posted this on here. It can also be found on AO3 under the same name and username, and on my tumblr, which is currently under the url capnclarke. Track/tag "clexa band au" for updates and if you want me to see things but don't wanna message me.

Tw: alcohol usage and brief mention of marijuana.

* * *

**CHAPTER 1**

The night air hits Clarke's face in a rush as she steps from inside of the stuffy bar and out into the back alley where Wick has pulled up his van.

The breeze feels good on her face, which burns with heat and adrenaline, her post-show high pulsing throughout her entire body. She smiles to herself a little, but rolls her eyes when she hears Raven and Wick bickering as usual.

"Just let me help you, Raven."

"Fuck off, Wick, I got this."

"I know you've got it, you don't have to prove you can lift it. I'm just offering."

"You never offer to help Clarke."

"That's because Clarke doesn't play a huge ass keyboard."

"Well, yeah but – "

"Okay, guys," Clarke butts in. She loves them, but they're so annoying sometimes. "Can we please go home? I need a shower."

The two of them stare at her until finally Raven rolls her eyes and sighs. "Fine, here Wick." She moves over from pushing the keyboard into the van and Wick lifts the other side. Together, they get it into the van next to Octavia's drum set.

"Did Octavia and Lincoln already leave?"

Wick nods. "Yeah, she and Lincoln and Bellamy went to the diner. You know," he says, quirking an eyebrow. "I could go for some grub right about now."

"Don't push it, dude." Raven elbows him in the side and avoids looking at Clarke. Clarke knows it's because they want to go out too. They always want to go out after their shows, but Clarke just wants to go home and take a shower, go to bed, finish her homework maybe.

She knows they think she isn't fun.

Whatever. She can be fun sometimes.

"Yeah, you know, I'm kind of hungry, too." They both stare at her incredulously, and she rolls her eyes. "Plus, we need to talk about Finn."

Raven scowls. "Never mind, let's go home."

Clarke frowns sympathetically. Finn had been their guitarist, but he was offered a scholarship across the country and had to quit the band. Tonight was his last show.

"I know it sucks, but we have to figure something out." She tries to catch Raven's eyes, but her best friend is staring at the ground and Clarke knows she's still seething. If Clarke knows anything about Raven, it's that she took Finn's departure personally. And she knows she has something to do with that, but they didn't have any other choice really.

"Can we just go home?" Raven folds her arms across her chest and next to her, Wick slumps his shoulders in disappointment. Clarke ignores him.

"Yeah, let's go home."

They pile into Wick's van and Raven and Wick immediately vie for control of the radio in the front seat. Clarke settles in the back, her bass guitar huddled next to her on the seat. She always has the urge to buckle it in, but knows the others will tease her for it, so she just holds on to it tightly.

When they finally arrive home, Raven heads to her room. Clarke hears her door slam and in seconds, loud alternative rock blasts from her speakers, the closed door doing very little to absorb the sound.

Wick snorts and heads to the kitchen. Clarke assumes he'll be shoveling food into his mouth in minutes.

She leaves him to it and heads to her own bedroom. As she strips out of her sweaty gig clothes and steps under the heat of the shower in her bathroom, she can't help but worry a little about the band. It would be hard to find a replacement as good as Finn.

She feels a small pang of guilt, but tries to not to think about that, or think about Raven's sadness that she can still feel pulsing in the beats of the music that pound against the bathroom walls.

Instead she tries to think of a melody, one that's been on the tip of her tongue for weeks, but always seems to evade her.

She sighs as it escapes her once again.

Whatever.

She'll figure it out soon. She always does.

* * *

"This is useless, Clarke." Octavia sighs and Clarke can feel the irritation bleeding off of her friend and into her own skin.

They'd decided to just hold auditions on their college campus, but every person to play for them so far had been a complete waste of time.

Clarke knew it'd be hard to replace Finn, but she didn't know it would be _this _hard.

And honestly, The Alliance is a pretty well-known band across the town and especially on campus. They should've had a better turn out.

"How many more are there?" Raven's leaning on her elbow, practically asleep in her chair. Clarke looks down at the sign-up sheet.

"Just two more. Wake up and pay attention."

Raven rolls her eyes, and for once, she's irritated with Raven more than she is with Octavia. Octavia sits up straight in her chair, waiting for the next person, and Clarke knows she's eager to get home and be with her boyfriend.

Bellamy opens up the door, leading what could possibly be their second-to-last chance at keeping the band alive into the garage.

Clarke tries not to think about that.

"'Sup?" says the guy. He has floppy long hair that hangs in his eyes. "I'm Murphy."

Next to her, Raven snorts, and it takes everything in Clarke's power to smile kindly at the dude. "Alright, Murphy. Show us what you've got."

Murphy strums on his guitar once, twice, a third time, before he full on just starts jamming like there's no tomorrow. Clarke represses the impulse to cover hears, wondering why on earth this kid thinks he sounds like he's actually playing music and not just releasing a screaming banshee into Clarke's garage.

"OKAY THAT'S ENOUGH THANKS!" Raven screams over the noise and it immediately cuts off.

Murphy looks like he's about to argue, but Bellamy grabs his arm and escorts him out of the garage. Clarke slumps in her seat.

"One more to go." The words feel like a surrender on her tongue and she thinks about how in a half hour, she'll probably be leaning over her anatomy textbook and wanting to pull her hair out.

Bellamy brings the last contender in and Clarke's too busy looking at the long list of names that had failed to look up from the table.

"Holy shit," Raven whispers. "She's hot."

Clarke glances up and almost does a double take. The girl has on dark, skin-tight jeans and a leather jacket, her brown hair pulled back slightly in a braid. She carries her guitar like a weapon and Clarke shivers.

"Dude," Raven says and Clarke rolls her eyes.

"It doesn't matter how hot she is," Clarke whispers back. "As long as she can play."

"So you admit she's hot?"

"Shut up, Reyes."

The girl clears her throat and Clarke meets her eyes, impressed by the intensity there. She can feel Octavia leaning forward in anticipation on her left.

The girl doesn't say anything, just quirks an eyebrow in Clarke's direction.

When she starts playing, Clarke can't look away. Her left hand moves up the neck quickly and confidently, her right strumming a powerful ballad. Clarke stares, transfixed.

Everything about the girl oozes confidence, from her power stance to the way she plays with absolute certainty, knowing she won't miss a note or drop a chord. And her eyes don't leave Clarke's, not even once.

When she finishes her song, the silence hangs until Raven exhales next to her.

"Damn girl."

Clarke elbows her subtly, but she thinks the girl notices, because she smirks ever so slightly. "What's your name?"

"Lexa," the girl says, wearing the name like armor. Her eyes pierce through Clarke's in a way that makes her unable to back down.

"Can you step outside for a moment, Lexa?"

The girl nods and lets her guitar rest against her back as she walks out of the garage door. As soon as it closes, Raven leans forward.

"Yes. One thousand times yes."

Clarke thins her lips in thought before turning to Octavia. "What do you think?"

Octavia thinks quietly for a moment, then she smirks. "She seems to be more hardcore than Finn. And she rocked it, Clarke."

Clarke nods. She was thinking the same thing. Still, something about the had girl crept under her skin, causing her whole frame to buzz with uncertainty.

After a minute's deliberation, the answer seemed clear enough. They were doomed if they didn't find a new guitarist, and the girl _did _rock pretty hard.

She nods once.

"Bell," Octavia calls. "Can you bring her back in?"

He brings the girl back into the garage, his steady stance somehow not overpowering Lexa like Clarke finds it does to most people.

"Alright, Lexa," she says. "Welcome to The Alliance."

"Woo!" Raven stands up and high-fives the girl, who grins carefully back. "Name's Raven."

Octavia stands up too, holding out her hand. Clarke can imagine the firmness of her handshake, her ROTC training kicking in, and wonders what Lexa thinks. "I'm Octavia. Drums. Nice to meet you." Lexa nods and turns to Clarke.

Clarke holds out her hand and Lexa takes it, squeezing once. "Clarke."

Lexa finally grins fully. "I know." Their eyes meet again, and Clarke lets go of the girl's hand.

"We practice here on Tuesdays and Thursdays from five to seven. Don't be late." She nods once to the rest of them and picks up her notes from the audition before heading into the house.

"Sorry she's such a buzzkill," she hears Raven say. "I swear she can be fun sometimes."

She pauses just inside the door as Lexa's response comes. "She seems serious about the music. There are worse things to be."

The door shuts behind her and she grits her teeth, heading upstairs to her room. She has a lot of homework to do.

She goes to sit at her desk and unzips her backpack. Downstairs, the garage door opens and closes again and can hear Raven flip on the radio in the kitchen.

By chance, she glances out the window just in time to see Lexa climb into her black Camaro, rev the engine, and drive away.

* * *

**CHAPTER 2**

Clarke's in a pretty shitty mood, and it only has a little bit to do with the fact that she totally just snapped a string on her bass.

It's not that big of a deal, it happens more than she wishes it did, and she can restring it in a heartbeat, but honestly, it's just the craptastic icing on top of a really stale cake of a day.

Or something.

Whatever. She's tired.

She stayed up too late last night studying for her calc exam because it's tomorrow and she's totally fucked and going to have to pull an all-nighter again tonight.

And now her string snapped, causing them to cut band practice short, which is totally irritating because they _have_ to practice. Bellamy is going to find them a gig soon and they have to be ready.

She doesn't know what she'll do if they're not.

"Hey," Octavia says, sliding up to her and twirling a drum stick around her fingers.

"Hey," she grunts back. She tries not to sound pissed off, but well, she sucks at holding back that stuff. She wishes she didn't sometimes.

Octavia eyes her warily, but she knows Clarke well enough by now to not take it personally. "I think it went well. Try not to worry so much."

Clarke just shrugs. "We have to be ready."

"We will be." She pats Clarke on the shoulder. "Yo, Reyes!"

Raven looks up from where she's talking to Lexa and Octavia jerks her head. Raven gets the hint and walks over to them, her red jacket draped over her shoulder. "'Sup?"

"I have to go home, but tell Clarke that we're going to be ready whenever Bell gets us our next gig." Octavia makes eyes at Raven for a second and Clarke rolls her eyes. She hates when they do that thing where they talk about her with their eyes, but she knows they mean well. Octavia waves goodbye to them all and Clarke hears the sound of her motorcycle revving in the street.

Raven nudges Clarke with her elbow. "She's right, Griff. We're gonna be fine. Plus," she smirks. "The Commander is really good. We've got ourselves a keeper."

Clarke stares at Raven. "The _who_?"

"Lexa," Raven says. "Octavia called her it on Tuesday and it stuck."

Clarke looks at Raven skeptically. "The Commander?"

Raven raises her eyebrows playfully, the way she always did when they were freshman in the dorms and she wanted Clarke to do something dumb with her. "It's a pretty cool stage name. You have to admit it."

"I guess…"

Clarke glances over to the other side of the garage where Lexa is zipping up her guitar case. Clarke _is_ impressed with her playing. That doesn't mean she's going to start calling the girl 'The Commander' or anything other than Lexa.

Raven rolls her eyes and Clarke can feel her getting annoyed, but she doesn't know how to not be like this. "Will you please loosen up?"

"Sorry," she sighs. "I just have my calc midterm tomorrow. I'll be less stressed after that, I swear."

"Yeah, alright." Raven looks like she doesn't believe her, but lets it go.

Lexa calls goodbye to them, waving at Raven and looking at Clarke curiously for a second. She stares back, unsure how to feel. She likes Lexa enough, but every time she looks up, the girl is staring at her with those serious eyes. The intensity is something Clarke isn't used to around Raven, Octavia, and Wick.

Clarke nods her head in acknowledgement and nudges Raven to say that she's going back upstairs.

She really has to get back to studying.

* * *

She's in the library doing some last minute studying when her phone vibrates in her bag. The sounds startles her and she realizes she forgot to turn it on silent. She pulls it out and glances at the message displayed on the screen.

**Raven (2:00pm): **Dudes we should have a party tonight.

Clarke quirks her eyebrows and before she can even think of a response, another text comes through.

**Wick (2:01pm): **Fuck yeah!

Clarke sighs and sets her phone down. She doesn't have time to think about this right now. Her test is in less than a half hour.

**Raven (2:08pm): **It's Friday. And we can celebrate Clarke finally being done with her midterms.

**Wick (2:12pm): **The Joker isn't responding.

Clarke rolls her eyes as she walks into her exam room and takes her seat. If she has to hear Wick ask her _why so serious_ one more time, she's probably going to put red dye in his hair gel.

**Clarke (2:23pm): **Fine, but I'm broke so count me out of buying the booze. Now quit texting me, I have to take my exam.

**Wick (2:24pm): **YES!

**Raven (2:26pm):** Aye aye captain! Good luck! Xoxo xxxxx

Clarke smiles a little bit before storing her phone in her backpack.

Time to crush it.

* * *

"Clarke come dance with meeeee." Raven tugs on her hand and Clarke feels herself smiling.

"How about you go dance, and I'll stay here and watch you embarrass yourself."

Raven smirks. "It doesn't matter how much I've had to drink, that's not possible."

Clarke's going to pretend that's not the truth. "Whatever you say."

"Ugh, you're no fun." Raven pats her twice on the knee before sliding away into the living room. Clarke watches her go, shaking her head as Raven's laughter bounces back to her from the dance floor.

She watches her feet swing where they dangle off the kitchen counter and sips slowly at her beer. In the living room, most of her friends are dancing and having a good time. She watches Bellamy and Lincoln play beer pong against Jasper and Monty. Raven has found Octavia and the two are jumping to the beat of the song, drinks held up high in the air. In the corner of the room, she can see Wick taking a hit of his bong.

She stares at them, her eyes zooming out of focus, the almost-melody that haunts her coming to the front of her mind. It's right there, on the tip of her tongue, and her fingers itch for her acoustic guitar, stored in her room next to her beloved bass.

If she could just write it down…

"Hey."

Clarke blinks twice, her eyes coming back into focus to see Lexa standing in front of her. "Oh. Hey."

"What are you up to?" Lexa meets Clarke's eyes, a small smile playing at her lips. Clarke admires the way the light hits her cheekbones. They look soft.

"Nothing, just…" She waves her beer in the air noncommittally and shrugs.

Lexa tilts her head to the side, her gaze steady on Clarke. "Why aren't you out there?" She jerks her head toward the living room questioningly.

Clarke quirks an eyebrow. "Why aren't you?"

Lexa cracks a smile. "Gotta fill up my cup." She holds up her own red solo cup. "Work hard, play hard, right?"

"What are you drinking?"

Lexa shrugs. "Whatever's in the keg." She looks down at Clarke's cup. "What about you? Can I get you a refill?"

Clarke almost denies, but Raven's words ring through her ears. _You're no fun_. "Sure."

She hands her cup to Lexa and watches as the girl bends down to pump the keg. She's wearing dark jeans and her leather jacket, a red bandana tied around her arm. Her black boots stand steady on the floor as she lets some beer flow into Clarke's cup, going easy on the foam.

Clarke wonders if Lexa thinks she's a killjoy, too, with her laid-back demeanor and her easy coolness.

"Here you go." She hands Clarke's cup back with a small smile. "So… rough day?"

Clarke snorts. "How'd you know?"

Lexa rolls her eyes with a knowing smile. "Reyes told me."

Clarke's not surprised. "Yeah, that sounds like Raven."

"You should come hang out." Lexa leans against the counter next to Clarke, her arm brushing Clarke's leg. She meets Clarke's eyes again and Clarke wonders if that's the beat pumping through her chest or if her heart just surged.

Clarke shrugs. "I like to watch them. Dancing's not really my thing."

Lexa raises an eyebrow at her. "You're in a band."

"So?"

"So don't you dance on stage?"

Clarke shrugs. "I don't know… I just play how I like to play."

"You just stand there and play?"

"I don't know," Clarke repeats. "What is this, twenty questions?"

Lexa takes a swig of her beer then sets it down on the counter. "Okay, come on." She holds out her hands and Clarke stares at them.

"Come where?"

"To dance with me, obviously."

"No thanks."

Lexa raises an eyebrow challengingly. Clarke refuses to back down. "You can't just stay in here all night being a wallflower."

Clarke opens her mouth to respond, but Raven suddenly appears in the kitchen, her red jacket flashing. Clarke snaps her mouth shut.

"Oh, there you guys are." She eyes the minimal space between them with a raised eyebrow. Clarke scoots away from Lexa as much as she can without being too obvious. "Clarke you gonna come dance, or what?"

Clarke looks back at Lexa, who's staring at her expectantly. "Not right now."

Lexa's expression is unreadable, but Raven rolls her eyes. "Yo Commander, I told you. You owe me a shot."

Lexa drags her gaze away from Clarke. "I promised, didn't I?"

"Yep." Raven hands her a shot glass full of vodka. "Cheers." The two clink their glasses and toss them back. Clarke watches on in half-amusement, half-annoyance as Raven sputters at the burn. Lexa washes her shot down with a smirk.

"You're weak, Reyes."

Raven rolls her eyes at Clarke. "This girl thinks she's hot shit, Griff."

"Hotter than you," Clarke teases.

"Don't fuck with me, babe."

Clarke laughs good-naturedly. "But it's so easy."

Raven flips her off and nudges Lexa. "Let's leave this loser to her solitary drinking." She heads back toward the living room.

Lexa follows her, throwing a "bye Clarke" over her shoulder.

Clarke watches them go and downs her drink before disappearing into her room for the rest of the night.

* * *

**CHAPTER 3**

Clarke can hear laughter and the music pumping from downstairs, but she tries to tune it out. She almost had that melody in her head and she's determined to get it back.

She plucks delicately at her acoustic guitar, testing out a few notes. It's not completely right, but she scribbles them down in her notebook anyway.

"Clarke, are you in there?" There's a knock on her bedroom door and she looks up as it opens. Bellamy sticks his head in her room. "What are you doing?"

Clarke plucks at another string, but she knows nothing is going to come to her tonight. Not with all these people around. "Nothing really."

Bellamy stares at her with pursed lips. "You should come downstairs."

Clarke shrugs. "I don't really feel like it. I might just go to bed."

"Go to – ?" Bellamy sighs and comes fully into her room, shutting the door behind him. He sits next to her on the bed and she feels his gaze on her cheek. "It's going to be fine. Don't worry."

Clarke scoffs. "How can you say that? When are you going to get us a gig, Bell?"

He flips his brown hair out of his eyes and sighs. "I'm working on it, Clarke. I can't just make a gig appear out of thin air."

"Well could you try a little harder?" Clarke spits out. "I really need this."

Bellamy stiffens next to her and she sighs. "Clarke…."

"Sorry," she says. "I just…"

He nods. "You need to stop beating yourself up about Finn. It's not your fault."

She scowls, feeling irrational anger sweep out from her stomach and into the room. "You don't know anything about it. And I'm not. I'm fine."

He raises his eyebrows skeptically. "Okay. Well the band is going to be fine, too."

"I know." She sighs. "This isn't just about the band."

She knows he's going to ask about it, knows she's going to have to tell him. He opens his mouth and she can practically hear the words weighing in the air.

"What do you – "

"Clarke? Bellamy!" Her bedroom door opens again, revealing Octavia, her face flushed red and smile wide. "There you guys are!"

Bellamy laughs quietly. "Take it easy, O." He looks at Clarke meaningfully, but she avoids his eyes and stares at Octavia instead. "We were just chatting."

"Boring." Octavia winks at Clarke and she rolls her eyes. "We're about to play flip cup and we need you guys."

"Need us, huh?" Bellamy winks playfully.

"Yes, Bell. Raven bet Lincoln ten bucks that her, Clarke, Lexa, and I could beat him, you, Wick, and Jasper. And obviously we're going to kick your asses so." She smirks at him.

Bellamy stands up. "Ten bucks? That's it? Challenge accepted."

"Bring it on, big brother."

Bellamy laughs and turns to Clarke. "After you, princess."

Clarke rolls her eyes at the nickname. "I'll pass."

"Not on my watch." Bellamy grabs her arms and she swats at him, but he just laughs and picks her up. She doesn't really try that hard to get away and soon he's carrying her down the stairs in his arms.

"Let me down, you idiot."

"Not a chance, Griffin."

Octavia laughs as she trails behind them and Bellamy turns into the living room. The beer pong table has been cleared off except for four cups on either side. The guys stand on one side, facing Raven and Lexa who, as far as Clarke can tell, are whispering strategy to one another.

Bellamy sets her down next to Raven and she smacks him on the arm. He just laughs it off and heads to the other side of the table.

"Alright," Octavia says, sliding up next to them. "The band may be Clarke's thing, but flip cup…" she pauses dramatically. "Flip cup is my territory."

Clarke laughs and rolls her eyes, almost expecting Octavia to whip out some war paint.

"I'll go first," Octavia says and points to herself. "Raven. You're my second."

Raven nods. "Let's beat these assholes."

Octavia looks between Clarke and Lexa, thinking. Finally, she says, "Clarke you're third. Commander… take us home."

The four of them line up down the table, cups filled to the brim in front of them. Clarke internally groans, knowing Wick probably filled them while Octavia was upstairs.

She seriously sucks at chugging.

She takes a deep breath in preparation.

"You got this," Lexa whispers from her right with a nudge to the arm. She smiles the teeniest of smiles at Clarke.

She nods back. "Let's just beat them or Wick will be unbearable tomorrow." She doesn't comment on how competitive she is, but now that she's been dragged into this stupid contest, she_has_ to win.

The guys line up on the other side of the table, first Lincoln, then Wick, then Jasper opposite of Clarke, and finally Bellamy.

Jasper wiggles his eyebrows at Clarke playfully, but she stares him down.

Did she mention she was competitive?

"Alright," Monty calls from the head of the table next to Lexa and Bellamy. "I'm the judge. Loser owes their girl counterparts ten bucks."

"What," Clarke hisses. "Raven if I lose I have to pay Jasper ten bucks? Octavia didn't say that."

Raven shrugs. "That was the bet, Griff."

"I hate you," she says back. She looks back toward Monty and notices Lexa staring at her again, eyes intense.

"I'm too competitive," Lexa whispers. "This was a bad idea."

Clarke cracks a smile. Good. Then maybe they'll win.

"Hey Bellamy," she calls. "I'll bet an extra ten bucks that you'll still have half your drink left by the time Lexa flips her cup."

Bellamy barks out a laugh. "Easy money. You're on."

Lexa stares at him, offended. Clarke nods at her, surprised when Lexa smirks at her and holds up her hand. Clarke high-fives it.

"Alright." Monty calls. "On your marks. Get set. DRINK!"

Clarke snaps her head to the left to look at Octavia throwing back. She's always amazed out how much liquor the girl's tiny body can hold.

Octavia slams down her cup at the same time as Lincoln does. Clarke watches as their cups flip, perfectly in sync, and land face down at the same time. The two look up and grin at each other. Next to her, Raven's begun drinking quickly.

Clarke tenses in anticipation, ignoring Wick and focusing solely on Raven. She slams her cup down and flips it over, but it falls.

She tries again and is successful the second time. The second the cup lands upright, Clarke brings her own cup to her lips.

The beer is too warm, probably from being left out on the table for so long, and Clarke hates it. She pushes through it, feeling the liquid begin to settle in her stomach.

"Go Clarke, go!"

She can feel Lexa twitching next to her on high-alert. Her cup empties quickly, and Clarke tips back the last drop.

Her fingers touch the edge of her cup as she sets it on the table, callouses flipping up the cup. She waits with baited breath as the cup seems to turn over itself in slow-motion. It lands upright with a clack and Lexa's hand shoots up quicker than lightning. Across from her, Jasper's cup topples over and he curses in frustration.

Octavia and Raven are both shouting something at Lexa, urging her to drink faster.

Jasper's cup lands upright and Bellamy starts drinking.

Next to her, Lexa slams her cup down, eyes focusing on it in concentration. She taps the cup's underside with her middle finger and it flips in the air.

Clarke watches as it lands perfectly, rim settling on the table with a satisfying thump.

Clarke hisses "_yes_" just as Monty yells "STOP!"

Bellamy lowers his cup from his mouth, and Monty immediately snatches it from his hand. He holds it up to the light, measuring it with scientific accuracy.

Then he smiles at Clarke. "Still two-thirds full." Clarke fist-pumps the air in celebration. "Clarke and the girls win!"

Raven whoops loudly. "TAKE THAT WICK!"

She looks to her left to see Wick scowling and Raven sticking her tongue out at him. Next to them, Lincoln and Octavia are making out drunkenly.

"We did it," a voice says in her ear, and Clarke glances to her left. Lexa's smiling slightly at her and Clarke grins back.

Raven's arm loops around Clarke's neck. "I think this calls for a celebratory shot!"

Clarke groans at the thought, but Lexa nudges her again and it bleeds into a laugh. Raven starts to drag her to the kitchen, and at the last second, Clarke grabs Lexa's hand and pulls her along, too. Raven and Lexa clink shot-glasses of vodka together, toasting to their victory.

Sandwiched between them, Clarke does the same, laughing and feeling warm with beer and happiness.

* * *

**CHAPTER 4**

Clarke wishes she was one of those people who didn't get hangovers. Like Octavia. Octavia never gets them. Which honestly makes no sense. Octavia is much smaller than her and drinks a lot more. You'd think she'd get a killer hangover, but nope.

That's Clarke.

She groans and tosses a few painkillers down her throat, swishing them back with a glass of water.

The coffee pot on the counter emits a long beep and she sighs in relief. She's always been a morning person, even when she's hungover, and coffee is the only thing that keeps her alive.

She reaches for a mug in the cupboard and hears a noise behind her. She turns her head and sees Lexa leaning against the kitchen island.

"Hey," she says. "You want some coffee?"

Lexa nods. "That'd be great."

Clarke pulls down another mug and pours them both some coffee. She hands the steaming mug to Lexa, who takes it gratefully.

"Thanks again for letting me crash on your couch last night," Lexa says after a moment, ignoring the cream and sugar Clarke sets in front of her.

Clarke smiles slightly. "Yeah no problem. Hope it was comfortable enough."

Lexa shrugs. "I've slept worse." She eyes Clarke over the rim of her mug. "How'd you sleep?"

"Not too bad," Clarke says. "I have a pretty bad headache, though."

"You should drink some water, it really – "

A loud thumping on the door cuts her off. "CLARKE!"

Clarke exchanges a bewildered look with Lexa and they both move toward the door. The pounding continues.

"CLARKE! OPEN UP! HURRY!" She thinks it's Bellamy.

Clarke peeps out of the window to see Bellamy and Octavia standing outside. She unlocks the door and pulls it open. Lexa peers over her shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Clarks asks as they push past her into the house.

Down the hallway, Wick's bedroom door opens and he sticks his head out. His blonde hair sticks up in every direction and he squints at the sunlight filtering through the open door. "Where's the fire, Clarke?"

She shrugs and gestures after Bellamy. Raven's head appears behind Wick and Clarke does a double take.

Raven? In Wick's room?

What the hell?

"CLARKE!"

She glances back at Bellamy and Octavia in the kitchen and sighs exasperatedly. She'll have to ask Raven about that later.

"What Bellamy? It's 8:30, couldn't this wait? Or have you heard of something called your cell phone?"

She stalks into the kitchen to see Octavia casually pouring herself a cup of coffee. Bellamy paces back and forth across the white tiles.

He finally turns to face her, a large smile on his face. "I got us a gig!"

Clarke gapes at him, her mouth opening and closing. "You did what?"

"A gig, Clarke!" He shakes her shoulders and she's vaguely aware of everyone staring at them. A gig?

Finally, the words seem to unscramble themselves in her brain and she breaks into a huge smile. "What?! No way! That's amazing! When? Where?"

"Wait for it…" Bellamy looks at her with a smirk, his hands still on her shoulders. "We're in Battle of the Bands!"

"What!" Raven says from behind her. "Shut up, Bellamy, don't joke about that stuff."

He takes his hands off Clarke's shoulders and turns to the rest of them. Raven and Wick stand in the entryway to the kitchen and Lexa leans against the island again. Bellamy looks around at all of them.

"Guys, I'm being serious." He grins widely. "You're going to perform in Battle of the Bands!"

Clarke thinks she's going into shock. "But, _how?_"

"Well, I sent in the demo a couple of weeks ago, but I didn't think it'd get accepted, so I just didn't say anything. No offense, Clarke." He smiles bashfully. "But the guy called me back this morning and he said we're in!"

"Hell YES!" Raven smirks and goes to high-five Octavia. "If we win, we could get _signed_."

Clarke feels hope building inside her. They could get signed? That's what she's wanted for as long as she can remember.

"When is it?" She manages to get out around the butterflies building in her chest.

"In three weeks!" Bellamy grins, his smile swelling with pride, and she's barely aware of Octavia and Raven doing a weird dance together in the corner. Wick is fist-bumping Bellamy, but Clarke feels the world around her stop.

Three weeks.

_Three weeks?!_

"Three. Weeks." It escapes her mouth meekly. They were never going to be ready in time. Finn _just _left. Lexa didn't know all their songs.

What would they even play?

"Three weeks," she repeats, her body slumping against the counter.

"Clarke."

They were going to have start practicing at least another day every week. And they still probably wouldn't be prepared.

"Clarke." A hand covers her own on the counter and she looks up. Lexa stares at her with large, concerned eyes. "Breathe."

"Three weeks," Clarke whispers.

The thought sends a chill down her spine.

Lexa looks over her shoulder to where Wick, Bellamy, Raven, and Octavia are talking excitedly. She grabs Clarke's hand and pulls her into the hallway.

"Are you okay," Lexa murmurs lowly, her eyes boring into Clarke's. Clarke feels like she's being swallowed.

"We're never going to be ready." She closes her eyes as panic sweeps over her.

Lexa squeezes her hand. "Yes we will be."

Clarke's eyes fly open. "We have to be ready."

Lexa nods. "We will be," she repeats. She seems so certain and Clarke lets it envelop her. "You can't freak out. Not right now."

"Okay," Clarke nods.

Lexa jerks her head toward the kitchen. "Those are your people in there. They're counting on you to keep it together."

"Yeah." She nods again, more to herself this time. "We'll be ready. I'll think of something." She steels herself, finding some kind of resolve in the firm grip Lexa has on her hand.

"I trust you, Clarke." Lexa smiles that small smile of hers and Clarke exhales heavily.

Lexa is right. No matter what, they'll be ready.

They have to be.

* * *

When Clarke walks out of her anatomy lab on Monday afternoon, she's surprised to see that fluffy white snowflakes have begun to float down from the sky.

When she left this morning, it hadn't exactly been sunny, but it definitely didn't feel cold enough to snow. Now, four hours and three classes later, not only is it snowing, but it's sticking to the ground, little patches of ice forming across the sidewalk.

She shivers and regrets that she didn't wear a heavy jacket today. Her thin hoodie barely shields her from the frost-bitten wind that nips at the air.

And she walked to class today.

She huffs in irritation, thinking about how she should've ridden her bike. What a waste of time that she could be spending getting ready for their gig this Friday. They need to be prepared. Battle of the Bands was only two weeks away.

She stuffs her hands in her pockets and hurries up the main street toward her neighborhood. If she walks quickly enough, it will only take her twenty minutes to get home. Then she can get back to work on that song she's been writing. If she can just fit the bridge with the –

The loud honking of a car jars her from her thoughts and she snaps her head up as a black car slows to a crawl next to her on the street.

The window slides halfway down and Clarke leans over slightly to see inside.

"Hey, you need a ride?"

Lexa's green eyes glint from within the dim light of the car. Clarke stops on the sidewalk for a second, unsure of what to do.

"It's on my way," Lexa says as if anticipating that Clarke might reject to not seem rude. "No problem at all."

Clarke thinks for one second more, but then a particularly large snowflake lands on her cheek and it's cold enough to push her to open the door and climb in the car.

"Thanks," she breathes out, pulling the passenger door closed behind her. Lexa rolls up the window and Clarke shivers as a warm blast of heat filters through the vents. Lexa pushes a button on the console and turns on Clarke's heated seat. She sighs gratefully.

"No problem," Lexa assures her. "You looked like you were about to morph into an unhappy version of Frosty out there. Prettier, of course, but…" she trails off with a small smile and Clarke rolls her eyes.

Lexa reaches behind her, pulling something from the backseat of the car and dropping it into Clarke's lap. It's her leather jacket. Clarke eyes it, her fingers sliding over the sleeves.

"Put it on," Lexa says, but it sounds more like a command than a request. She can see why Octavia's nickname has stuck.

"Aren't you cold?" Clarke manages to ask, finally taking note of Lexa's outfit. She's wearing her dark jeans and a black sweater that looks far too thin to provide any warmth. She's pulled a red beanie over her ears, her brown hair flowing over her shoulders.

Lexa looks gorgeous, but she also looks freezing.

"Just put it on, Clarke." Lexa shifts the car into drive, and signals that she's merging back onto the busy road. Clarke sighs and slides her arms through the jacket. It's warm and the leather smells vaguely like campfire and aspen leaves.

Clarke sinks into the jacket and pulls her seatbelt on.

"Thanks for the ride," she says eventually, letting the heat start to defrost her ears.

Lexa glances at her briefly before bringing her eyes back to the road. "Wouldn't want you to be an ice block for our gig this Friday."

Clarke shoots her a small smile that she doesn't see. "No promises."

"Why are you so tense about it anyway? Don't you guys play at this bar every other week?"

Clarke shrugs. "Yeah, but this is our last real rehearsal before Battle of the Bands. It has to be perfect."

Lexa pulls up to stoplight and glances at her again. "Nothing's perfect, Clarke. Especially not music. That's the whole point."

"Yeah, but…" Clarke purses her lips. Nobody quite gets it, no matter how many times she explains it. "I just could really use a big break."

Clarke can feel Lexa's eyes on her, their intensity never wavering. Like a pull she can't avoid, she stares back at them, their green hue becoming darker and more complex every millisecond that she looks. "My mom thinks the band is just for fun, you know? That I'm not serious about it."

The light turns green and Lexa looks back at the road, her lips curving down in a small frown. "I don't think anyone could be more serious about something."

"She wants me to be a doctor, and I like what I study, and if I end up doing that, then that's fine." Clarke shrugs, watching as Lexa's hands tighten on the wheel.

"But you'd rather play bass for a living," Lexa finishes for her and she nods.

"Yeah."

Lexa hums thoughtfully. She opens her mouth to say something, but then she gasps. "I love this song." Her hand reaches for the dial on the console and she's turns up the volume. Clarke stares at her incredulously when she recognizes the song.

"You do?"

Lexa nods. "KISS is legendary. Plus," she grins and Clarke thinks it's the first time she's seen Lexa completely smile. "I've always wanted to paint my face like they do. Have that whole eye makeup look going on."

"Really?" Clarke laughs disbelievingly. "I can't see it."

Lexa turns to her, taking her eyes completely off the road, and sticks her tongue out like Gene Simmons. She holds her hand up in the universal signal for "rock on." Clarke bites back a laugh because who knew their stoic 'Commander' would be such a dork.

"Actually, I have an idea," Lexa says, and she switches lanes, turning right at the next stop light instead of going straight.

"Where are you going?" Clarke looks out of the window as they turn. "I live that way."

Lexa ignores her and turns right to merge onto the highway. They get going up to full speed and Lexa smiles again. "Okay, ready?"

"Ready for what?" Clarke stares at Lexa, confused and, if she's being honest, a little afraid. Lexa seems to have that effect on her.

Lexa turns the volume of the song up beyond loud, the sound of the guitar ripping against the car's speakers. The song is almost at the chorus. "Okay!" Lexa yells over the music. "Sing as loud as you can!"

The song moves into the chorus and Clarke just gapes as Lexa starts screaming along, a loud war cry of sound filling the car. "_I wanna rock and roll all night… and party every day!"_

Lexa looks over at her when she doesn't sing along and rolls her eyes. Clarke's not sure what her face looks like, but she guesses it's somewhere between confused, bewildered, and amused.

Lexa turns down the music. "You're supposed to sing as loud as you can."

"Singing? Is that what you call what you were just doing?"

"Ha. Ha." Lexa shakes her head, her left hand leaving the steering wheel and resting on the door. Her index finger hovers over the buttons that control the windows. "If you don't sing, I'll roll the window down and let this blizzard into the car."

Clarke shrugs and tugs on the lapels of Lexa's leather jacket. "I'm not the one without a jacket."

Lexa glances over at her, trying to figure out if she's kidding or not. Clarke cracks a smile and Lexa tilts her head to the side in surrender. "Okay, but please just do it."

She doesn't wait for Clarke to respond, just cranks the volume back up. The chorus is coming around again and Clarke resigns herself to the fact that she's going to give in.

"_I wanna rock and roll all night… and party every day_,_" _Clarke sings.

Lexa nudges her. "Is that all you've got?" Clarke can barely hear her over the music.

Clarke braces herself as the line starts over. "_I wanna rock and roll all night… and party every day!"_ She sings louder, and barely keeps herself from laughing. The line comes around again and this time, Clarke screams alongside Lexa.

"_I WANNA ROCK AND ROLL ALL NIGHT… AND PARTY EVERY DAY!"_

The song keeps playing, the music filling Clarke's chest, and she feels herself yelling louder. Eventually, the song fades away, and Lexa turns down the radio. Clarke's face feels hot, but she's smiling and Lexa laughs as pulls off at the next exit.

Clarke looks over at her, noticing the flush in her cheeks and the way stray flyaway hairs frame her shoulders. Her usual composure isn't there and she looks the way Clarke feels.

Happy and free.

"I used to be like you," Lexa says after a minute. "I was too invested in everything all the time." She pauses for a second to glance at Clarke before looking back at the road. "I still am most of the time, actually."

Lexa takes a left and merges back onto the highway going the other direction. "It really started to get to me, to the point where I didn't feel young anymore. It sounds dumb maybe, but I felt like the weight of the world's responsibilities were on my back."

Clarke tilts her head to the side, curious. "Why?"

"I don't know. Just the way the world works sometimes, I guess." The corners of Lexa's lips pull down. "School and family and band drama. It can start to get to you. It got really bad for me when my first band split up. My girlfriend at the time was the singer and we broke up and it caused a lot of drama. The band ended up breaking up, too."

"I'm sorry," Clarke says genuinely, hoping Lexa knows that she means it. She understands.

Lexa nods once. "Sometimes these things happen, and we just have to keep going. Scream it out." Her quiet smile slides across the middle console.

"I made Finn accept his scholarship across the country," Clarke admits. "I was afraid something similar would happen to The Alliance."

There's silence for a moment. Then Lexa says, "did you two date?"

Clarke shakes her head. "No." But then she scrunches her nose. "Almost."

"Almost?" Lexa quirks an eyebrow in Clarke's direction.

"Yeah," she says. "He dated Raven, but they broke up. And afterward, we had a thing. I was worried, though, because even though they both said it was fine, I knew that Raven wasn't. When the scholarship opportunity came up, I pushed him to take it." Clarke shrugs. "It was probably the best thing for him, but I knew it would be hard for the band and for Raven."

Lexa exits off the highway, pulling up to a red light at the intersection. She looks at Clarke steadily. "Sometimes we have to make sacrifices to do what we think is best."

Clarke doesn't say anything. Sometimes she still feels like she might have ruined everything.

"Raven is close to you," Lexa states. "And the others. Octavia, Bellamy, and Wick."

Clarke nods and avoids Lexa's gaze. "They're family. Even if I hate them most of the time."

The light turns green and Lexa turns back onto the main road. She heads toward Clarke's neighborhood. "Especially when you hate them," she says. Clarke laughs breathily.

"Maybe."

"Well, you are very lucky, Clarke." She smiles to herself.

Clarke nods again as Lexa turns onto Clarke's street. A sense of familiarity settles into her bones as her house appears on the left. Sometimes she forgets how nice it is to come home.

"Well, here we are," Lexa says as she pulls up to the curb.

"Thanks again for the ride." Clarke opens the door, the cold air piercing against her skin. "Oh, here's your jacket."

Lexa waves her off. "It's fine, just give it back to me at practice tomorrow."

Clarke almost refuses, but something stops her. "Okay." She climbs out of the car, but before she can close the door she thinks of something. "Hey," she says.

"Yeah?" Lexa stares at her and for once, Clarke doesn't find it as unsettling as she usually does.

"I'm glad I found you." Clarke rolls her eyes at herself. "I mean we. I'm glad the band found you."

The corners of Lexa's mouth twitch. "See you tomorrow, Clarke."

Clarke grins and shuts the door, waving as Lexa's car zooms out of sight. She walks up the driveway and through the side door.

Raven and Wick are sitting on the couch watching what looks like some sci-fi movie Clarke's never seen, and they both stare at her as she walks in.

"What are you wearing?" Raven asks, her eyes following Clarke as she moves past the couch. "Is that The Commander's jacket?"

Clarke smiles to herself as she walks up the staircase. "Yeah," she calls over her shoulder. "She gave me a ride home from class."

"And her jacket apparently," she hears Wick mutter to Raven and they both laugh. Clarke ignores them, shutting her bedroom door behind her.

She takes off Lexa's jacket and hangs it on the back of her desk chair. It stays there the rest of the night, delicately filling Clarke's room with the faint scent of leather and cold air and Lexa.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 5:**

"Okay, stop! STOP!" Clarke yells over the crash of the drums behind her. Octavia grabs the cymbal to silence its reverberations. "Raven you're singing too fast. Come on."

Raven scowls at her. "Clarke, no I'm not."

"I can hear you, yes you are."

"I've played this song a thousand times, and I can guarantee that I'm not." Raven rolls her eyes and runs a hand through her hair.

Clarke sighs in frustration, avoiding the apprehensive eyes of Bellamy and Wick in the corner of the garage. Tomorrow, they have their last gig before Battle of the Bands and they sound totally off. She just can't place what it is.

"Alright," she says. "From the top then. Let's try again."

Clarke holds her bass up as Octavia counts out the beat. She makes brief eye contact with Lexa across the garage, but quickly looks away. She needs to concentrate.

They're just getting to the chorus when she hears it again.

"STOP!"

The drums echo as they all stop playing. She can feel Octavia's scowl behind her and she grits her teeth. She turns to Raven again, but never gets the chance to say anything.

"Don't look at me like that, Clarke. It's not me." Raven's hands clench over the keyboard and she stares at Clarke defensively.

"I can hear you, Raven." Clarke allows her shoulder strap to catch her bass as she lets go and puts her hands on her hips.

Raven scoffs. "Like hell you can." She looks away and mutters something under her breath.

"What was that?" Clarke steps closer to her, not in the mood to deal with this today. They need to get their shit together if they want to have even a small chance at winning.

Raven shrugs. "It's The Commander. She's hitting the E when it's supposed to be D."

Clarke looks over at Lexa. The girl thins her lips and nods.

"Fine," Clarke says. "Lexa, make the adjustment. From the top again."

They start the song over, carrying it through the first verse perfectly. Clarke closes her eyes as the chorus approaches, concentrating on the guitar, listening for the D.

E.

"Okay, stop!"

The sound cuts off and she hears Lexa curse. Clarke brings her hands to her face in frustration. Why can't they get this?

"This is going well," she hears Raven mutter to herself. Clarke feels something in her snap.

"Seriously, Raven? What is your problem?"

Raven glares at her. "You mean besides the fact that we're going to choke at the competition?"

"Dude, Raven, don't," Octavia says, her tiny body emerging from behind the drums.

Clarke feels the first waves of anger rolling in her stomach and knows this is going to turn into a fight. She can't stop herself, though. "No, continue. I think I should hear this."

Raven shifts uneasily, but Clarke knows she won't back down. Neither of them ever do. "Octavia and I know the songs, so stop putting us through this hell of yours."

"Sorry that I want us to be ready," she says through clenched teeth.

"Well, Octavia and I are ready, so stop yelling at _us_."

Clarke feels another pang of anger sear through her. "Not all of us have perfect pitch, Raven. I'm sorry."

Raven shrugs cooly. "Well maybe instead of blaming me, you could've just _asked_. But no. You never ask! Just like you never asked our opinion about Finn and you just pushed him to leave."

Clarke freezes. She's stuck in a stare-down with Raven, but she can feel the eyes of everyone else on her. She swallows. "That wasn't my decision and you know it."

"Well you sure didn't ask him to _stay_." Raven glares at her defiantly and Clarke think she sees her lip tremble, but she can't be sure.

Raven wouldn't cry in front of them if she could help it.

Clarke wonders how they got to this point.

She breaks eye contact and her gaze lands on Lexa. She has a firm grip on her guitar and is staring at Clarke as intensely as she always is. Lexa nods minutely (or did Clarke imagine that?) and looks toward Raven.

"I'll be ready by tomorrow."

Raven rolls her eyes. "Whatever. Like it will make a difference anyway."

"Raven," Clarke starts, but she doesn't know what else to say. Raven just unplugs her keyboard and rolls up the cords as quickly as possible. Clarke sighs and turns to Lexa. "I can work with you one-on-one tomorrow afternoon before we play."

Wick snorts from his seat in the corner. "One-on-one time. Nice."

Raven groans as she walks past them toward the door. "_Shut up, Wick_."

Wick holds his hands up in surrender, before standing up and following Raven into the house. The door slams behind them.

Octavia, who had been mostly silent up until now, moves out from behind her drumset. She fixes Clarke with an unreadable look. Clarke wonders if she agrees with Raven and is pissed at Clarke for encouraging Finn to leave, too.

"Come on, Bell," she says and moves toward the garage door. "Lincoln and I are going to meet up for dinner."

Bellamy glances at Clarke uncertainly. She shrugs.

"See you guys tomorrow," he murmurs lowly before following Octavia out of the garage.

Clarke lifts her bass over her head, suddenly hyper-aware that she's left alone with Lexa, the nature of the fight weighing down on the air.

"Sorry," Clarke says after a moment.

"I don't take it personally." Lexa zips up her guitar case. "It's not really about me, is it?" Clarke knows it's not really a question so she shrugs.

"No, not really." She wonders for the thousandth time if she should've asked Finn to stay.

Lexa faces her, steady and sure. "It's not your fault, Clarke. You did what you had to do."

"What if I didn't?" She runs a hand through her hair, frustrated.

"Then you didn't. You'll face the consequences, either way." Lexa quirks an eyebrow. "You can't play that game. You have to stick to what you did and make the best of it. Doubting yourself will only bring more worries."

Clarke meets Lexa's eyes, taking comfort in their certainty. "I know."

Lexa nods. "I'll see you tomorrow, then. After you get done with class."

"Okay," Clarke says. "After two, then."

"After two." Lexa shoots her that small smile, the one that seems to seep into Clarke's blood stream, and waves goodbye.

Clarke shuts the garage door and heads up to her room, wondering why out of a room full of people she loves, the person she knows the least is the one who maybe knows her best.

* * *

Clarke strums on her acoustic guitar, repeating the string of notes she just played. They sound fine, but… there could be something more there.

She sings quietly under her breath, the lyrics of the song she's working on flowing out as she tries to find just the right chord to play.

"I didn't know you could sing."

Clarke snaps her head up toward the voice, noticing Lexa standing in the doorway to her room.

"Sorry," Lexa says, gesturing behind her. "Wick let me in."

Clarke shakes her head, her heartbeat slowing down after the initial scare. "It's fine, I just…" She clears her throat. "How long have you been standing there?"

Lexa tilts her head to the side, studying Clarke with gentle eyes. "Just a minute or two."

"Oh." Clarke purses her lips. Sometimes when she's writing a new song, she gets sucked into a vacuum, just her and her guitar. It could've been hours for all she knows.

Lexa steps further into Clarke's room and sits next to her on the bed. Clarke can feel Lexa's body heat, and the familiar scent of Lexa's leather jacket infiltrates her personal space. She exhales shakily.

"Was that a new song?" Lexa's eyes are on her fingers, which she has perched on the fret board of her guitar.

"Umm," Clarke nods, suddenly nervous. "Sort of."

Lexa meets her eyes, that small smile pulling at her lips. "Sort of?"

Clarke shrugs half-heartedly. "I mean, yes. But it's not done." Her fingers slide over the strings briefly, causing a soft hum of music to reverberate in her chest.

"Play it again." Lexa leans closer in anticipation and Clarke quirks an eyebrow at the demand.

"Maybe after we practice," she says, meeting Lexa's eyes.

Lexa nods once and leans down to unzip the guitar case at her feet. "I've got the songs down now."

Clarke tilts her head to the side as Lexa loops the strap of her guitar around her neck. "You do?"

"Yeah," Lexa nods. "I practiced when I went home last night."

"Alright," Clarke says doubtfully. "Let's hear them, then." She taps out the beat on her acoustic and Lexa begins playing.

Clarke sings along to the song quietly. When Lexa gets to the part of the song that she'd been messing up before, she plays through it with ease. Their eyes meet briefly and Clarke smiles in encouragement. Lexa's pupils grow wide and Clarke feels her stomach flip at the intensity.

"Nice," she says as Lexa finishes the song perfectly. "Okay what about the other two?"

Lexa smirks confidently and Clarke's smile grows. They play the other two songs and it's Clarke who messes up the second one, stumbling over the lyrics to the second verse. She feels self-conscious for one second, but the corners of Lexa's lips pull up gently and she keeps playing, causing Clarke to let out a laugh and keep going.

They finish the second song, Clarke managing to get the right words out between her laughter. By the end of the song, Lexa's smiling fondly at her.

"Alright, my bad," she says, through a laugh. "Looks like you've got it, though."

Lexa nods certainly. "I know this is important to you. I wanted to show you that I'm taking this as seriously as you need me to."

Her breath catches in her throat at the sincerity in Lexa's voice. "Thank you, Lexa."

"I am willing to work hard so that you can be the best." It seems to take a lot for Lexa to say this and Clarke feels herself go soft at the words.

She doesn't know what to say to that to convey how grateful she is that she found Lexa. So she strums softly on her guitar instead. "Want to hear what I have on the new song?"

Lexa nods, her long hair falling over her shoulder. The soft afternoon light streaming in through Clarke's half-open blinds glows around them. Absently, Clarke thinks Lexa looks exceptionally pretty like this, with her long hair down and her eyes lit up with curiosity and happiness.

"Okay." Clarke tucks her hair over her shoulder and clears her throat. "Like I said, it's not done."

Lexa just stares at her. Clarke takes a deep breath and starts playing. "So it starts like this…" She plays the opening progression. "Then it moves into this…" She strums over the first verse, quietly singing the few lines of lyrics she has.

She meets Lexa's eyes and feels self-conscious for a second at the (what can only be described as) _angsty_ lyrics, but Lexa smiles softly, her eyes wide and focused on Clarke, and the feeling passes.

She moves into the bridge, her lips thinning in frustration. "Here is where I'm stuck," she says as she strums through it. "It just sounds… off." She sighs and stops playing. Repeats the progression. Stops. She twists her lips and shrugs at Lexa.

Lexa is staring at her hands, humming quietly under her breath. "Wait, play that again."

Clarke strums through it again, shrugging as she finishes lamely. "I just don't know."

"What if…" Lexa plays the line back at her, but goes an octave higher instead. Clarke furrows her eyebrows in thought.

"Yeah maybe…." She matches what Lexa played on her acoustic, singing the lyrics under her breath. "Actually, I really like that."

She starts at the beginning, playing through the song until she gets to the part she was stuck on. She repeats it the way Lexa suggested, smiling as it seems to fit. She vibrates excitedly.

"Okay, okay, then what if…" She meets Lexa's eyes as she plays the next part, her voice melting into the room as she sings. Lexa nods eagerly.

"That sounds really great, Clarke."

Clarke feels heat rush to her cheeks, her lips pulling into a wide smile. "It does, doesn't it?"

Lexa nods, her eyes soft and open. They're close enough for Clarke to pick out the flecks of brown in Lexa's irises. "You should sing more often," Lexa says. "I like your voice." She clears her throat. "I mean, it's very pretty."

If Clarke was Raven, she might say _you're very pretty_, but she's not Raven and Lexa is too close for Clarke to think of anything other to say than a quiet, "thanks, but…" She shrugs uncertainly.

"But…" Lexa tilts her head to the side. Their guitars hang between them, almost bumping together as Clarke shifts so she's facing Lexa straight on.

"Raven has a better stage presence than me," Clarke says. "I like singing, but it's better for the band if Raven sings."

"Hmmm." Lexa hums and her eyes dart down and back up quickly. "Well if it's better for the band then that's up to you, but I think you sound great."

Clarke bites her lip in thought. She loves to sing, and sometimes she does get sad that she doesn't get to do it as often as she wants to. "Sometimes I wish maybe it wasn't always about the band," she admits, looking away guiltily. Of course it should be about the band, but she can't help that she feels like she's missing out sometimes.

"Maybe it doesn't have to be," Lexa says and Clarke hears her breath catch. She looks back up and their eyes meet briefly before Lexa leans in.

Clarke closes her eyes in anticipation, her stomach flipping when Lexa's lips touch hers. It's softer than Clarke expected, but she's starting to learn that Lexa is gentler than she seems. She sinks into the kiss, giving into the warmth that's suddenly spreading across her body.

Lexa pulls away and Clarke keeps her eyes closed, reveling in the way her heart beats quicker than Octavia's snare drum. Their noses touch and Clarke wants to smile, to lean in, to not think for a few minutes, but she suddenly realizes they're _kissing_ and they have a gig tonight and she remembers Finn and heartbreak and Lexa's first band breaking up and she just….

"Wait," she says, pulling back just as Lexa tilts her head to the other side and leans in again. Lexa opens her eyes, the green in them flashing at Clarke, who suddenly can't breathe properly. "I'm not ready. Not… not yet."

Lexa stares into her with a gentle intensity and Clarke wonders if she knows it has nothing to do with her, she's just not ready to jeopardize the band again. Not so soon after Finn.

Lexa nods slowly at Clarke and pulls away. Clarke feels a pang in her stomach, though she's not sure if it's because she feels guilty about saying no or because she feels guilty for not _wanting _to say no. Lexa must sense the turmoil inside her because she smiles quietly as if to reassure her.

"It's okay, Clarke. I understand." She stands from the bed, pulling her guitar over her head and setting it into its case.

Clarke just watches, unable to think of anything to say. Her mind is moving too fast for her to string any complete thoughts together. Her lips buzz and her fingers tingle and she feels nervous energy compressing inside her.

"I'll just see you tonight," Lexa says as she picks up her guitar case, her head tilting to the side to stare at Clarke.

Clarke tries to say something, but her throat feels dry and thick. She clears it awkwardly. "Okay. Be there at eight thirty." She cringes at the bluntness, but Lexa just nods again.

"Of course." She shoots Clarke one last quick glance before she walks swiftly from the room.

Clarke stares at the door long after Lexa is gone, the faint warmth of Lexa's breath lingering on her lips.

* * *

**Chapter 6:**

Clarke stands in front of her mirror, twisting her lips in thought. She's trying to get dressed for the gig, but she's a little preoccupied thinking about other things.

School and Lexa and the band and Lexa and her fight with Raven and Battle of the Bands.

And Lexa.

Mostly just Lexa.

She sighs and pulls her shirt over her head, staring into her closet. It's organized neatly by style and color and she still can't figure out what to wear.

"Clarke, are you almost ready?"

Raven saunters into her room and bounces back on the bed. Clarke just stares at her over her shoulder.

"You gonna wear that bra to the gig?" Raven raises an eyebrow at her.

Clarke rolls her eyes. "You could've knocked."

Raven shrugs. "Nothing I haven't seen before, Princess."

Clarke scowls. "Thought you were pissed at me."

"Nah." Raven picks at Clarke's comforter before meeting her gaze head-on. "It's fine. I mean I was. But I'm over it now so. Whatever." She shrugs again and Clarke bites her lip.

"Alright, well I'm sorry anyway," she says sincerely. "I'm doing the best I can here."

"Yeah." Raven purses her lips. "I know."

Clarke nods slowly, looking back at her closet. She pulls a shirt off its hanger and slides it over her head, turning to look in the mirror.

"Seriously, Griff?"

Clarke meets her eyes in the mirror. "What?"

"Don't wear that," Raven says, the look on her face telling Clarke that she's offended by her choices. Clarke sighs. What else is new.

"What's wrong with this?" She looks at herself in the mirror again, tilting her head to the side to look at the white blouse.

Raven sighs and stands up, going to Clarke's closet and sifting through the clothes hanging there. "Nothing… if you're planning on going to a _job interview_."

"We'll that's rude," Clarke says, watching as Raven yanks a blue tank top off its hanger.

"I just tell it like it is, babe." She hands the shirt to Clarke and turns back to the closet. "Put that on."

Clarke sighs, surrendering to the fact that Raven is basically just playing dress-up with her. She pulls the blouse off and sticks her arms through the straps of the tank top. She tugs it down as Raven shoves a jacket at her.

Clarke looks at it and makes a face. "Raven, no."

"But you'd look _hot_, Griff."

Clarke holds up the jacket, twisting her lips in thought. She doesn't even remember buying the jacket, the grungy material striking her as more of Octavia's style. Maybe Octavia gave it to her for her birthday, but she doesn't think so.

She reluctantly slips the jacket on, staring at herself in the mirror. The three-quarter sleeves fit her fine, stopping a few inches above her watch. The pockets puff out and she tugs a little on the collar to fold it down.

She guesses it does look pretty good…

"See," Raven says with a smirk as she looks over Clarke's shoulder into the mirror. "You look hot. Maybe you'll get some digits." She bumps shoulders with Clarke, who immediately thinks of Lexa.

She kind of wants to tell Raven what happened earlier, but doesn't want to rock the boat so soon after they made up. Plus, she doesn't really know what to think of the whole thing yet.

She liked kissing Lexa. A lot. But she doesn't want to act on anything that could potentially split up the band.

And like, does she even like Lexa in thay way? They've only known each other for a few weeks, but Lexa makes her feel calm and steady, which is something that she isn't really used to.

And after the Finn thing, she doesn't want to piss Raven off. Although, she did see Raven coming out of Wick's room that one morning. And they have seemed to be hanging out a lot more lately. Huh…

"Yeah about that," Clarke says. "What's the deal with you and Wick?"

Raven leans away from her and crosses her arms, jutting out her chin defensively. "What do you mean?"

Clarke raises an eyebrow. "Well one day you're bickering like an old married couple and the next day you're sleeping in his room?" Clarke shrugs, faking nonchalance. "I mean it's none of my business, but seems a little suspicious to me."

Raven twists her lips and picks up Clarke's bass from where it rests next to the door, ready to go. "I dunno. It's whatever."

"Raven – "

"Let's just go," Raven cuts her off. "Wick is already loading the van and I know how you are about being late." Clarke watches as Raven escapes out of her room with her bass, the sound of her skipping down the stairs echoing back up to Clarke.

She takes one last look in the mirror, decides to stick with the outfit, and follows after her friend.

Raven's right.

Clarke _cannot_ be late.

* * *

Clarke loves the bar they have their recurring gig at. It's big and always packed and she loves that it looks like it's survived a nuclear bomb, with its faded tin ceilings and large wood-backed booths. The Ark is almost like her home-away-from-home, the familiar faces of the bartenders Miller and Harper always there, never changing.

She smiles to herself as she sits in the backroom, quietly observing Octavia and Raven's preshow rituals, taking comfort in the fact that no many how many times they do this, she can always count on them to do the same thing.

She watches as Raven and Wick take their traditional tequila shot. As always, Raven sticks her tongue out in disgust afterward, hitting Wick on the chest when he laughs at her. Wick just jumps back and starts to unravel all of the cords, getting ready for when they go up on the small stage. He says something to Raven that Clarke can't hear, but she does hear Raven shoot back, "yeah _that's_ a good idea. Seriously Wick? Moron."

Clarke shakes her head and wonders why Raven wouldn't tell her about what's going on between them. She guesses it's not her business.

There's a loud shout from her left, and she turns to watch Octavia and Lincoln do their pregame pump-up dance. Well. Maybe she wouldn't call it a dance. It's more just like them jumping around and laughing. Sometimes she hears Octavia chant "I am not afraid" in an attempt to convince herself she doesn't have stage fright.

They eventually stop jumping and Lincoln picks Octavia up and spins her around, his muscular body enveloping her tiny one. Clarke smiles to herself, wishing that Raven would let herself be as happy as Octavia is.

_Well_, Clarke thinks as her eyes land on the final member of the band. _Maybe I should take my own advice_.

Lexa's sitting on a stool, eyes closed and guitar unplugged from the amp, fingers darting across her guitar. She mouths the words to the song and strums quietly. Her long hair is pulled back in a braid and she's wearing her leather jacket and tight black jeans. Clarke didn't expect anything different.

Lexa finishes the song and opens her eyes, accidentally meeting Clarke's gaze across the room. Her lips pull up at the corners and she tilts her head to the side, studying Clarke curiously.

Clarke's stomach flips and for one second, she feels awkward at being caught staring. She pushes through it and stands up, approaching Lexa.

"Hello, Clarke," Lexa says when she gets closer.

"Hey." Clarke sticks her hands in the pockets of her jacket, causing Lexa to look her up and down. Clarke swallows nervously, but has to admit she likes the warmth spreading up her arms.

"Cool jacket," Lexa smirks.

Clarke shifts on her feet, looking down at the jacket. "Raven made me wear it. She says I look hot or something."

Lexa smiles softly. "Raven is a smart girl."

"Uh." Clarke licks her lips. "Thanks."

Lexa shrugs. "I only speak the truth."

Clarke grins, admiring the way the low lights of the bar shimmer in Lexa's hair. She nods in acknowledgment. "You ready?"

"I was born ready," Lexa says, shifting her guitar in her grip. "As were you. We are going to rock." Lexa holds up the universal rock-on sign, the same way she did in the car the other day, and Clarke laughs, the sound coming from deep within her stomach.

"Guys!" Bellamy sticks his head in the back room. "Take the stage."

Wick heads out to start plugging in the amps, Raven following quickly behind. Clarke's partially aware of Lincoln hugging Octavia in the corner, but Lexa is smiling at her and she nudges Clarke's arm as she stands up from her stool.

"Let's go," she says, and Clarke realizes that in this familiar place and with these familiar people, she's never felt more at home in her entire life.

They open with a cover to Octavia's favorite AC/DC song and the sound of everyone in the bar singing along reverberates within Clarke's chest. She breathes deeply, feeling a hot flush rush to her face quickly at the end of the song, the crowd's applause like a shot of adrenaline to her bloodstream.

"How's everybody doing tonight?" Raven yells into the microphone. There's a loud cheer and she laughs, causing Clarke to grin widely. This is her favorite part about performing, the connection they have with the crowd. She looks out into the mass of people, drunk college kids holding up glasses of beer in their direction. She sees Jasper and Monty yelling something excitedly at Lincoln and laughs.

"So, as some of you may notice," Raven says into the mic. "We've got a new guitarist. How great is she, guys?" The crowd cheers loudly and Clarke looks at Lexa. She's pursing her lips together, holding back a large smile. Clarke cheers, too, causing Lexa to look over at her. Their eyes meet and Lexa lets a wide grin break through.

Clarke wiggles her eyebrows and Lexa laughs, looking away from Clarke shyly. Clarke thinks it's probably the cutest thing ever and knows Lexa would murder her if she knew what Clarke was thinking. The thought makes her smile wider.

"Give it up for The Commander, y'all!" There's a supreme boom of noise from the crowd. "Alright, alright, settle down." Raven laughs into the microphone, her hands resting on her keyboard. Octavia gives a little drumroll.

"We've got a kick ass show for you guys, so let's get on with it!"

Raven nods at Octavia, who clicks out a beat, and they jump into their next song. It's one Clarke wrote ages ago, one they've played here a million times, and a majority of the crowd knows every word. A flash of pleasure sparks through Clarke, warm happiness building in her stomach as her own lyrics are sung back at her.

The plucking of her bass comes as second-nature to her, and she sways on her feet to the beat of the song, Raven's raspy voice and the strong beats of Octavia's drum rattling her rib cage.

They play through a few covers and a couple of their original songs, Clarke's confidence that they sound good growing with every whistle from the crowd.

By the time they get to the last song of the night, she's almost certain she could take on anything.

"We're going to finish up tonight with one you guys know," Raven says over the yelling of the crowd. "As always, give it up for our banging drummer, Octavia Blake!" There's an especially large whistle from the left and Clarke looks to see Lincoln clapping loudly.

"And how about a round of applause for my beautiful bassist and best friend, Clarke Griffin?" Clarke waves as everyone cheers. "And can we talk about how hot she looks in that jacket, guys? Fellas, ladies… she's single so give her some love!"

Clarke rolls her eyes and flips Raven off, but she smiles when Raven grins at her.

"Once again, how about some noise for The Commander! And I'm Raven Reyes! Don't forget to tip your bartenders and check us out next Friday at Battle of the Bands. We are The Alliance, and here's one more for you guys. Goodnight!"

Clarke almost misses the beginning of the song over the loud cheering. She nods her head to the beat, fingers plucking wildly at the strings of her bass.

She notices a body moving across the stage and looks up to see Lexa in front of her. She smiles, her green eyes flashing, and Clarke feels a shiver run up her spine despite the sweat dripping down her neck.

They play close together, Clarke's bass inches from Lexa's guitar. Lexa never breaks eye contact with her, and Clarke vibes with it, rocking forward in her black Chucks into a low stance.

She feels powerful and in control.

She feels in charge.

By the end of the song, she's filled with a breathless elation, the feeling consuming her altogether. She licks her lips as Lexa quirks an eyebrow at her, their bodies still inches apart. The roar of the crowd has become background noise as Lexa leans in close, her mouth grazing Clarke's ear.

"Told you we were going to rock."

Clarke nods. "You were amazing."

"So were you." Lexa smiles her quiet smile, her eyes staring into Clarke's with a relentless intensity. Clarke's throat feels dry and she looks down at Lexa's lips.

Maybe it was time she started putting the things she wants first…

She closes her eyes and leans in slowly, her mouth parting in anticipation.

"WE ARE THE ALLIANCE AND THANK YOU AGAIN!"

Clarke's eyes snap open and she leans away from Lexa, suddenly realizing that she doesn't want to do this here. Not on stage.

Lexa's mouth is parted, eyelids heavy, and she snaps her head to fix Raven with a glare that Clarke swears could kill. The girl doesn't even notice and is fist-bumping with Octavia.

"Come with me," Clarke mutters to Lexa, grabbing her by the arm and leading her off the stage.

As soon as they get off the stage, they're bombarded with a mass of people, the first of which are Monty and Jasper who are both yelling so loudly that Clarke can't even pick out what they're saying. She hugs them and high-fives a few other people she recognizes, trying to pull away from them as quickly as possible.

"Lexa!" A large man pushes his way through the crowds and Clarke side-eyes Lexa as he gets in front of them.

"Gus?" Lexa's face morphs into an unreadable mask, eyes hard and vacant, so different than the ones that stared into hers just moments ago. "What are you doing here?"

The man laughs loudly, his beard shaking as he exhales. "I'd heard you'd joined a new band. Just wanted to confirm the rumors."

Lexa tenses next to her. "You heard correctly."

"I can see that now." The man, Gus, glances at Clarke, and Lexa steps forward slightly, jutting her chin high in the air.

"Where is Costia?" Lexa's voice has gone sharper than Clarke has ever heard it and she shivers.

Gus' eyes soften at Lexa's words. "She's gone, Lexa. Left town."

Lexa's expression remains unreadable, but suddenly it clicks for Clarke. Costia was Lexa's ex-girlfriend.

"And the others?" Lexa asks.

"Indra is still here, and a few new guys." He glances at Clarke briefly. "We'll also be at Battle of the Bands."

Lexa lifts an eyebrow. "Oh will you?"

"Yes," Gus nods. "You're welcome to join us."

Lexa stiffens and Clarke feels indignant anger rise up in her throat. Before she can say anything, Lexa speaks coldly, the tone of her voice sharp and emotionless.

"You are dead to me, Gustus. I told you I never wanted to see you again."

Gus doesn't even flinch, but nods at Lexa. "We were all trying to do what was best, you know."

Lexa shrugs. "It means nothing to me now."

"Fine," Gus sighs. "May we meet at Battle of the Bands, then." He nods at Lexa again and disappears into the darkness of the bar, which has begun to empty.

Clarke looks at Lexa, but she's staring into the space her ex-bandmate had just been with vacant eyes.

"Lexa," Clarke says, and Lexa turns her head slowly, eyes focusing on Clarke. "Are you okay?"

Lexa nods. "Yes, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Clarke."

Clarke meets Lexa's eyes, watching as they slowly melt into the soft green that Clarke is used to. "Okay."

Lexa purses her lips. "He was from my old band, Ice Nation."

"I figured." Clarke's stomach bottoms out, knowing they don't know each other well enough for her to ask what she's about to ask, but unable to stop herself. "Costia was your girlfriend, wasn't she?"

"Yes," Lexa murmurs, and Clarke feels a pang of sadness for Lexa. "But they mean nothing to me anymore." She smiles warmly at Clarke. "I am with The Alliance now."

Clarke nods. "I hope we beat them at Battle of the Bands." She thins her lips in thought. "I'm sorry you had to do that, though."

Lexa shrugs at Clarke, and gestures that they begin walking toward the backroom where the rest of the band is waiting. "We will win," Lexa says with certainty. "Victory stands on the back of sacrifice, you know."

Clarke stops walking and lifts an eyebrow at Lexa, who grins and nudges her. "I am kidding, Clarke."

"Oh." Clarke shakes her head in amusement, a flutter of butterflies erupting in her chest when Lexa says her name. "You're kind of a dork, you know that?"

"No," Lexa says with a smile. "I am The Commander."

Clarke rolls her eyes, but laughs good-naturedly. "Well, lead on, then." She gestures for Lexa to go ahead, but Lexa shakes her head and grabs her hand.

"Together."

Clarke looks down at their hands quickly, then back up at Lexa's eyes. She smiles gently at Clarke, who can't help but nod and smile back.

"Okay, then," she says. "Together."

When they walk back into the room to see Wick and Raven bickering next to Raven's keyboard while Octavia and Lincoln make out against the wall, Clarke grins happily.

Maybe it's time she deserves to go after what she wants.

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Raven's sitting at the kitchen table when Clarke gets home from class on Monday, a pencil held between her teeth as she reads her textbook.

She's sure it's something for one of Raven's mechanical engineering classes, but it might as well be a foreign language to Clarke. Raven seems to understand it, though, nodding every few seconds in agreement with whatever the book is trying to teach her.

Raven seems pretty absorbed in the reading, so Clarke doesn't feel too guilty about making herself lunch. She gets out the stuff to make grilled cheese and starts to heat up the pan when Wick comes home.

He waltzes into the kitchen, his laptop bag slung over his shoulder, carrying two coffees. He's wearing a snapback that says "tekkies sound it out" and Clarke smiles at him as he nods his chin up at her.

"'Sup, Griffin."

"Hi, Wick."

Raven doesn't say anything, still focused on her textbook. Wick swings by her on his way to his room, setting one of his coffees in front of her. He squeezes her shoulder with one hand, then heads down the hall.

"Your snapback is stupid," Raven calls after him, one hand twirling her pencil between her fingers, the other coming down to grasp the coffee cup. Wick waves one hand over his shoulder and disappears into his room. Raven goes back to reading.

Clarke kinda just stares at Raven.

"Close your mouth," Ravens says without looking up. "You're going to catch bugs in that thing."

"Since when does Wick bring you coffee?" Clarke asks, turning back to the counter to spread butter on her bread slices.

She looks over her shoulder to see Raven shrug. "Since we started banging."

Clarke drops her knife, the utensil slipping from her hand with a metallic clunk as it hits the counter and then the floor. Raven remains unfazed.

"I knew it!" Clarke bends down to pick up her knife then points it at Raven. "I totally saw you that morning."

Raven glances up at her, unamused. "What morning?"

Clarke sets her bread slices on the pan and turns back to Raven. "I don't know. Like a few weeks ago! When Bellamy got us the Battle of the Bands gig."

Raven purses her lips in thought. "Oh. Yeah, I guess." She shrugs again. "It's been happening for like a month, I'm surprised you didn't realize sooner."

Clarke's mouth falls open. "A month!" She feels herself getting a little grumpy. "And you didn't tell me? You guys are my roommates! What if it got awkward? What if it messed up the band? What if you got pregnant? Oh my god, Raven, are you using protection?"

Raven stares at her like the answer is obvious. "I didn't tell you because I was afraid you'd freak out, and oh look, I was right." She sighs and sets her pencil down, taking a large sip of her coffee. "Can you just like, breathe for a second?"

Clarke grits her teeth, nodding and trying to keep her worrying under control. These are just her people and she worries because she hates when crappy stuff happens to them and she doesn't know how to fix it.

But she's still her, and Raven's still Raven, so she can't help but worry just a little. "Okay," she says. "So what does this _mean_, though?"

"I dunno," Raven says nonchalantly. "That I get laid sometimes and it's nice?"

Clarke nods. "That's great," she says. "I'm really happy for you."

Raven raises an eyebrow. "Really? Because you look like you're still worrying." She points behind Clarke. "And you burnt your lunch."

Clarke spins around, cursing at the slices of bread smoking in the pan. She hadn't even put the cheese on yet. She sighs. She'll just have an apple or something.

"Sorry," Clarke says, dumping the burnt pieces of bread in the trash and setting the pan in the sink. "I just… I don't want you to get hurt again." She says it quietly because she knows it's partially her fault. And even if it wasn't she would take the blame if it meant that Raven could move on.

"Come on, Griff." Raven snaps her textbook shut, giving Clarke her full attention now. "I'm over the Finn thing, okay? You have to move past that."

Clarke shrugs, leaning against the kitchen counter and meeting Raven's eyes. "I just know that it sucked for you, and I never wanted anything to hurt you."

Raven shoots her a small smile. "Dude, I know. It's fine now, okay? You're still my best bud."

Clarke nods uncertainly, but grins slightly. Raven's her best bud, too. "Alright, if you're sure."

"Of course I am." Raven takes another sip of her coffee. "You gotta live a little more, Griff. Just let yourself be happy."

Clarke clears her throat awkwardly. "About that. Lexa and I made out."

"Shut up." Raven widens her eyes, a large grin breaking across her face. "YES. This is amazing. This is great."

Clarke rolls her eyes, but laughs fondly. "Okay, stop. It was one time."

"I _told_ you she was hot. And I knew she liked you. God, I so knew it." She looks down the hall. "WICK! WICK GUESS WHAT! CLARKE AND LEXA MADE OUT!"

"Alright, no need to scream," Clarke mutters as Wick sticks his head out of his room.

"Dude, Griffin." He gives her a thumbs up. "Nice one."

Clarke sighs exasperatedly. "Thanks, I guess."

Wick goes back into his room and Raven looks at her again. "What's the deal? You like her or not?"

"I don't know," Clarke shrugs, thinking of how steady and confident Lexa makes her feel, and how soft her lips were. She shivers. "Yeah, I do."

"Okay, so what's the problem here?" Raven raises an eyebrow at her, slumping back in her chair at the table. "You like her, she likes you. Seems pretty simple to me."

Clarke rolls her eyes. "It's so not that simple. What about the band? What if we break up? What if it's another Finn situation?"

Raven sighs, leaning forward. "It won't be." Clarke eyes her doubtfully. "Okay, seriously. Lexa isn't Finn. And you can't live your life like that, worrying about the band all the time. You need to put yourself first sometimes. And I like The Commander. She's solid."

Clarke doesn't say anything and Raven stands up from the table, moving closer to her. She wraps her arms around Clarke's neck and Clarke melts into it a little.

"Just let yourself be happy for once, Griff." Raven squeezes her again and lets go. She walks backward down the hall, with a smirk. "Now if you'll excuse me…" She waggles her eyebrows and disappears into Wick's room.

Clarke smiles, happy for Raven, but then she remembers what's happening and quickly runs upstairs to her own room.

Raven and Wick getting it on is seriously not something she wants to hear.

* * *

Clarke nods along to the song, singing the last line of lyrics as it fades out. She looks up with a smile.

"Clarke, this song rocks," Octavia says with a confident nod from behind her drumset.

Clarke shrugs. "I mean, I think it still needs tweaking, but – "

"Shut up, Griff." Raven rolls her eyes. "This is your best song yet and you know it."

She feels heat creep up her neck. "I mean, Lexa helped, so that probably has something to do with it." She looks over at Lexa and Lexa shakes her head briefly.

"No," she says. "Clarke did most of it. I just helped her fix that part before the chorus."

"Yeah, but you helped."

"Hardly."

Raven sighs exasperatedly. "Either way. We have to play that one at the battle."

"No way," Clarke says, an edge to her voice. "We don't have time to learn it. Battle of the Bands is in four days."

"We can do it," Raven says.

"Yeah, Clarke, I'm with Raven." Octavia crosses her arms. "We've played our other song a million times, we don't need to practice it. We can just work on this one. We'll have it ready."

Clarke feels a pang of doubt. The song is barely finished, let alone good enough to perform it in front of a huge crowd.

"Commander, tell her," Raven juts her chin toward Lexa. "We can do it."

She meets Lexa's eyes and they study her with their usual quiet intensity. Clarke tries to ignore the fluttering in her stomach.

Eventually Lexa nods. "I agree, Clarke. This is our best chance at winning. We should go for it."

Clarke hesitates. "I don't know guys."

"Well I do," Raven says defiantly. "If we want to win, we play this song."

Clarke looks around at the three of them. Octavia watches her expectantly, arms crossed across her chest. Raven's mouth is set in a determined line, one hand on her hip, the other on her keyboard. Lexa just stares, waiting, steady eyes intently fixed on Clarke.

She sighs. "Okay, I guess we can do it."

"Yes!" Raven grins, leaning over to fist-bump Octavia. Clarke catches Lexa's eye and she nods encouragingly.

"Okay, but we have to practice and if I think it's not ready, we're going back to the other one." Clarke's words go mostly ignored by Raven and Octavia as Bellamy walks in, carrying a large box.

"Bell? What are you doing here?" Octavia stands up and ruffles his hair.

He sets the box down on the floor of the garage. "You mean besides being your manager?"

"Only because we couldn't find someone better," Raven quips with a grin.

Bellamy smirks. "Please, I'm practically a managing god." He shakes his head and opens the box. "Nah, I got some swag for you guys."

He rummages in the box for a second, then tosses something at Clarke. She instinctively catches it before it hits her in the face. He throws the material at the other band members while Clarke holds hers up in front of her face.

It's a navy blue shirt with the band logo Clarke had drawn for them on the front. She smiles slightly, flipping it around to see the back. She scowls at the letters printed across the shoulders.

"Princess, Bellamy, really?" She eyes him and he raises his hands in the air innocently. He is such a cocky shit sometimes.

"I meant to have them put Clarke on there, that's so weird," he says. "Must've been a typo or something."

Clarke flips him her middle finger and he barks out a loud laugh.

"These are cool, Bell," Raven says, already having pulled her shirt over her head.

"Hey!" Clarke says, rolling her eyes. "Raven, you're supposed to wash that before you wear it."

Raven just scrunches her nose at her. "Seriously, babe. Take a chill."

"Just…" Clarke sighs. "Okay I'll wash everybody's shirts while we rehearse and then we can wear them around campus this week to boost our PR before the battle."

Raven rolls her eyes, but seems to accept that Clarke will always be like this because she pulls her shirt off and hands it to Clarke. She goes to put them in the wash and hurries back to the garage.

"Okay," she says, clapping her hands. "Let's get back to rehearsing."

Bellamy pulls out his laptop and sits in his usual corner of the garage. The rest of them pick up their instruments.

Clarke nods at Octavia, who clicks out the beat, and they jump into the song. As they play, tweaking a few things here and there and trying to tighten it up, Clarke realizes that while the song does need a few small adjustments, Raven was right.

This song is her best yet.

And they're going to win.

* * *

When she gets out of her final class for the day on Wednesday, Clarke shoves her sunglasses on her face and pushes out of the classroom eagerly, slinging her backpack over one shoulder. The sun shines brightly on her face and she turns her face toward it greedily, relishing the warmth on her cheeks.

She walks swiftly across campus, lost in her thoughts. The days until Battle of the Bands are rapidly disappearing and she feels anxiety pool in her stomach and tighten in her chest. She takes a deep breath, trying to quell the feeling.

They have their last rehearsal tomorrow and Clarke has to admit they sound good – hell, they sound great – but she knows they can sound _better_.

They can always sound better.

And she's still not one hundred percent sure about the new song. Raven decided to entitle it "It Can't Be Over," after a line in the chorus and it made Clarke suddenly realize that they were going to be playing songs they wrote – songs _she _wrote – in front of hundreds of people.

She's nervous to say the least.

"Clarke!"

She's shaken from her thoughts by a hand on her shoulder and she looks up, grinning brightly when she comes eye to eye with Lexa. She thinks back to her conversation with Raven and feels her stomach tighten with a different kind of anxiety.

"Oh, hey," she says.

Lexa raises her eyebrows at her. "I called you three times. Are you okay, Clarke?"

Clarke rolls her eyes at herself. "Yeah, sorry. Just have my head in the clouds today, I guess."

"I'll just have to call you Clarke of the Sky People," Lexa smirks. "But it appears you're going by The Commander now."

Clarke stares at Lexa, confused. "What do you mean?"

Lexa points at Clarke's shirt and she looks down at herself. She's wearing her new band shirt, the logo for The Alliance bright and crisp on the front. She looks back at Lexa, still not really getting it. Lexa's wearing her band shirt, too, and she spins around, pointing at the letters across her shoulders.

PRINCESS.

Oh.

_OH._

"Oh my God, did I give you the wrong shirt?" She tries to look over her own shoulder at the words printed on her back, and can just make out 'THE CO' on the back. She looks over the shoulder, laughing when she sees 'NDER' on the other side. "Sorry," she says, turning back to Lexa, who shrugs.

"That's okay," Lexa says, straight-faced. "But next time you want to wear something with my name on it, just ask, Clarke."

"I didn't mean to," Clarke argues and Lexa cracks the tiniest of smiles. "Oh you're kidding." She pushes Lexa with her shoulder lightly, laughing when Lexa grins at her.

Lexa's eyes seem extra bright in the sunlight, or maybe just when she smiles like that, and Clarke feels something simultaneously light and heavy pass between them.

"Umm," she clears her throat, stepping back slightly. "What are you doing right now?"

"Talking with you," Lexa says and Clarke swears her eyes flicker up from looking at her lips.

Her heart flutters dangerously. "No, but like, after this?"

Lexa shrugs one shoulder. "Nothing. Going home."

"Want to go for a drive?" Clarke asks. Lexa raises an eyebrow in surprise and Clarke shrugs. "I wouldn't mind letting off some steam. Screaming it out…."

Lexa's shoots her a small, knowing smile. "I would love to, Clarke."

They walk to Lexa's car in the parking lot, Clarke babbling on about her class and this exam she has next week the whole way. She likes the way Lexa listens intently to her, different from the way Raven always seems to be half-listening, her mind preoccupied with a million other things, she's sure. But Lexa meets her eyes when she talks and asks her questions like she's interested in what Clarke is saying. It's a nice change of pace.

Lexa pulls out her keys as they approach the car and Clarke puts a hand on her arm, stopping her. "Can I drive?"

Green eyes glance down at Clarke's hand then back up to meet her eyes. She seems uncertain and Clarke grins a mega-watt smile, willing Lexa to trust her. She watches as Lexa sighs begrudgingly, her eyes closing briefly as she caves. Clarke smirks.

"Fine," Lexa says, handing over the keys.

Clarke snatches them with a smile. "Don't worry, I'm not going to wreck your car."

"I'm not worried about the car," Lexa mutters. She seems embarrassed to have said this out loud and quickly disappears into the passenger seat. Clarke slides in after her, settling behind the wheel as Lexa buckles her seatbelt.

Clarke starts the car and plugs the auxiliary cord into her phone. She turns on an old Blink-182 album before putting the car into reverse and backing out of the space.

"You're lucky you have good music taste," Lexa says and Clarke snorts as she puts the car in drive.

"Why, were you going to kick me out if I didn't?" Clarke pulls onto the main road, heading toward the highway.

"Yes," Lexa deadpans.

Clarke glances at her with a grin. "Liar." She can feel Lexa's eyes on her face, see her staring in her periphery, and Clarke shivers at the intensity. She squirms in the driver's seat and rolls down the window as she merges onto the highway.

The wind whips her hair in her face and she takes one hand off the wheel to push it back. She lets her hand rest on the gear shift as she gets going to full speed and glances at Lexa again.

"You ready?"

Lexa doesn't respond, just turns the volume up. The music reverberates through the car, vibrating within Clarke's chest as the road opens up before her.

She sticks her head out of the window, just for one second, and lets out a happy scream.

"Clarke!"

Lexa grabs her hand on the gear shift, giving it a tug. Clarke giggles and brings her head back in the car.

"Don't do that again," Lexa's voice tightens with urgency. "At least not while you're driving."

"Okay, okay, sorry," Clarke closes the window. Lexa moves to let go of her hand, but Clarke doesn't let her, lacing their fingers together on the gear shift.

She can feel Lexa staring at her, but keeps her eyes on the road. "Now who's the worrier," she says with a playful lilt.

She hears Lexa let out a quiet sigh. "Just… please abide by the laws, Clarke."

"You got it, Commander," Clarke teases, feeling windswept and happy.

"I don't want you to crash and ruin our chances at Battle of the Bands," Lexa responds as Clarke exits the highway.

Clarke raises an eyebrow playfully. "Oh, you'd manage without me."

"I wouldn't," Lexa says quietly, tightening her grip on Clarke's hand.

Clarke glances over at Lexa, but she's looking out of the window. She gives Lexa's hand a squeeze. "Okay," she says, and merges back onto the highway, speeding up as she heads back home.

They ride the rest of the way without talking, Clarke singing along to the songs playing and Lexa alternating from looking out of the window to staring at Clarke.

Clarke doesn't mind.

Clarke pulls up to her house and parks in the street, finally letting go of Lexa's hand. She turns the car off and takes the keys out of the ignition, handing them back to Lexa with a smile.

"Thanks," she says, unplugging her phone and leaving them in silence.

"Anytime," Lexa responds. Lexa's tone leaves her with no doubt that she means it.

"See you tomorrow?" She asks, and Lexa nods, her eyes never leaving Clarke's.

Clarke bites her lip before leaning over the center console and pressing a quick kiss to Lexa's cheek. When she pulls back, Lexa's eyes are closed and Clarke grins, opening the door.

"Bye," she calls over her shoulder as she gets out of the car and heads up her driveway. She looks back when she's unlocked the front door and is stepping inside. As far as she can tell, Lexa's still sitting in the passenger seat of her car in silence, eyes closed.

Clarke smiles and closes the door behind her, the feeling of the sun still on her cheeks and Lexa's fingers between her own.

* * *

**Chapter 8:**

Clarke was wrong.

They're totally going to lose.

She clenches her fingers in her jacket, pacing back and forth in the hallway just off the stage. Lexa's old band, Ice Nation, is currently performing, and Clarke feels dread run through her veins, turning her blood cold. They're really good.

Every band here is really good.

There's a loud cheer from the audience as Ice Nation finishes and Clarke knows that means they're just two bands away from their turn.

She grits her teeth as Ice Nation leaves the stage and some band called The Mountain Men starts setting up for their set.

Losing isn't an option, it has _never_ been an option, but she's still afraid.

She swallows down the fear and walks back to their practice room, shutting the door behind her. As soon as the latch clicks into place, all outside noise disappears. She takes a deep breath, letting the momentary silence wash over her.

She looks around the room, rolling her eyes at Bellamy who's sulking in the corner, his new The Alliance hat pulled low over his eyes. Clarke had had to pull him away from the lead singer of Atom and the Delinquents. Apparently the lead guy, Atom, had been checking out Octavia, and Bellamy had been seconds away from punching his lights out.

She shoots him a quick glare, but he doesn't notice, and she follows his gaze to where Octavia and Lincoln are arm wrestling at the table, another of their pre-show rituals. Clarke is always surprised when Octavia pins Lincoln's arm flat against the table.

Raven and Wick are nowhere to be found, but Jasper and Monty sit on the floor with their backs against the wall, going over the light cues that Monty hooked up for their performance.

Lexa lounges on the couch, cool as always. She absentmindedly stares at the ceiling, hands folded across her stomach. If Clarke didn't know any better, she'd say Lexa was posing to be painted, all strong cheekbones and dark eyes.

Which reminds Clarke of her plan.

She walks over to where Lexa's lying on the couch. "Hey," she says, and Lexa's eyes flicker over to her.

"Hello, Clarke." Lexa smiles softly. "Are you ready?"

Clarke shrugs uncertainly. "Ice Nation sounded pretty good," she admits, the nerves in her stomach tightening.

Lexa nods. "They did." She closes her eyes briefly before turning them back on Clarke. "We sound good, too."

Clarke doesn't comment on that, just pulls the tube that's in her pocket into her palm. "So, I have something for you."

Lexa raises an eyebrow. "Do you?"

"Yep." She pats Lexa's knee. "Sit up."

Lexa obeys, swinging her legs over the side of the couch and planting them on the floor. Clarke pulls up a chair and sits in front of her.

"Close your eyes," Clarke says.

"Why?" Lexa leans away from her slightly and Clarke can't help but grin at the apprehension on her face.

"So that I can make you a rockstar." Clarke rolls her eyes fondly when Lexa still doesn't close her eyes. "Come on, don't you trust me?"

Lexa stares into Clarke's eyes for a moment, perhaps seeking out something deep within her. Maybe she finds it, because her eyelids reluctantly close, her mouth set in a tight line.

"Relax," Clarke says, pulling the tube out of her pocket and twisting the cap off. Lexa's face relaxes and she exhales heavily.

The face paint is warm and smooth on Clarke's fingers and she rubs it between them, experimenting. The guy at the costume store said it would be hard to sweat off, but some soap and warm water would wash it away easily enough.

"Alright," Clarke says, her fingers, now black with paint, hovering close to Lexa's face. "Don't move."

She slowly brings her fingers up, gently touching the space between Lexa's eyebrows. Lexa stiffens, but doesn't open her eyes. Clarke grins in triumph. She squeezes out more paint and delicately touches her fingers to Lexa's eyelids. They twitch under her fingertips.

Her fingers spread the paint across the side of Lexa's eyes, darkening it in some places. She bites her lip as she ghosts her fingers over Lexa's pale skin. She's never been able to look at Lexa this closely before, and she slows her movements, relishing the simple silence between them, broken only by the careful in and out of Lexa's breathing.

"This feels odd," Lexa murmurs, her voice low and soft, hushed like she might pop the bubble around them.

"I'm almost done," Clarke responds, fingers dabbing paint under Lexa's eyes, letting it run in small streaks on her cheeks.

She grins as she finishes. "Don't open your eyes yet. It has to dry."

She twists the cap on the tube and leans back to admire her handiwork. It's not quite Gene Simmons, but Lexa looks pretty badass anyway.

"Dude!" Octavia slides up next to her, Lincoln right behind her. "Commander, you look fierce."

Lexa quirks an eyebrow, but keeps her eyes closed. "Can I open my eyes now, Clarke?"

Clarke hesitantly touches the paint around Lexa's eyes. It's stiff and sticky, but doesn't smudge. Quick-drying, she guesses. "Yeah, but don't touch your face."

Lexa's eyelids flicker open, and the green of her eyes shines brightly from within the dark paint. Clarke's throat suddenly feels dryer than a desert.

Lexa looks _hot_.

She wipes the paint off her hand on her black jeans, but it's mostly dried on her fingertips. She'll have to wash them quickly before they go on stage. She pulls out her phone and pulls up the front facing camera, turning it so Lexa can see herself.

Lexa pulls her gaze away from Clarke and looks at the camera, her eyes going wide when she sees herself. She hesitantly moves her hand up as if to touch her face, but seems to remember Clarke's warning at the last second and balls it into a fist, letting it drop back into her lap.

She stares at herself for a moment, her lips pulling up in a small smile.

"Clarke, that's awesome as fuck." Octavia bounces on the balls of her feet, hyping herself up. "Can you do me, too?"

Clarke chuckles lowly. "Okay, but I'm almost out of paint."

There's a beeping sound and the intercom speaker on the wall fizzles with static. "_The Alliance,_" a voice says. "_You're on deck_."

"Crap," Clarke says, her nerves, which had moved to the backburner for a few moments, rushing back in full force.

"Here," Lincoln says, taking the tube of paint from her hands. "Get ready, and I'll do this one." He jerks his head toward Octavia, who smirks at him.

Clarke nods, unable to form words through the anxiety suddenly tightening in her chest.

"Clarke." Clarke turns back to Lexa, who's stood up from the couch. "Breathe."

Clarke takes a deep breath, forcing herself to focus. She's performed in front of crowds before. Not this big, but still.

She can do this.

She meets Lexa's eyes again, drawing strength from the certainty there. One corner of Lexa's mouth turns up in a half-smile, and she slowly raises her hand, gently moving a stray piece of hair out of Clarke's eyes.

It feels too gentle and intimate for the sudden adrenaline pumping through Clarke's blood.

"Thank you, Clarke," Lexa murmurs, voice somehow reaching her over the pounding of her heartbeat in her ears.

"Ready?" Clarke asks, her tone sounding stronger and surer than she feels.

Lexa nods, once, steadily.

"Let's do this."

* * *

"Please welcome to the stage… The Alliance!"

The emcee's voice booms through the speakers and the crowd erupts into cheers. Clarke swallows thickly, following Octavia out of the wings. Raven taps her on the butt, grinning as she passes Clarke on her way across the stage.

Clarke grips her bass like a lifeline, squinting against the bright lights burning down on them. She can't see the tech booth, but she hopes Monty is up there and ready to go.

"What's up DC? We're The Alliance! Make some noise!" Raven's voice echoes, even through Clarke's ear plugs, and the crowd responds with enthusiasm.

Clarke smiles, some of the tension in her shoulders leaving as Octavia sets the beat.

She's played this song a million times.

Lexa strums through the opening chords of the song and Clarke plucks along, her stance widening and pulse quickening. Raven's silky voice duets with the guitar, a complement Clarke couldn't have dreamed up if she'd wanted to.

They sound amazing.

Clarke grins widely, falling into a familiar stage presence. She nods her head to the beat, meeting Lexa's eyes across stage, powerful and entrancing under her face paint. Her guitar thrums, ripping through the chords. Lexa leans in close to Raven on keyboard, the two of them playfully interacting until the bridge, when the sound of Lexa's guitar almost disappears and Raven's fingers slow on the keys, her voice lowering to an emotional rasp.

The crowd screams in the moment of careful vibration before she brings it back, Lexa coming back in on guitar and Octavia rolling the snare.

Clarke hums into her mic, backing Raven up on vocals until the song dies down with a final _oh oh_ from Raven.

The audience's response is deafening and Clarke feels herself smiling, living for this moment of connection.

"Thank you! That was Fallin' with You. Here's our final number, It Can't Be Over."

Clarke's stomach twists, but Octavia clicks out the beat and she doesn't have time to be nervous. She looks down at her fingers as she begins to play.

The bass drum drowns out her heartbeat and for one second, it doesn't feel like she's on stage, plucking along on her bass. She imagines she's in the crowd, screaming the lyrics, jumping up and down to the rhythm of the song.

Then Raven starts singing, her voice gliding over the lyrics Clarke wrote in her room all those weeks ago.

She feels proud, a sense of ecstasy pumping through her blood stream into her heart. She jumps up and down on the balls of her feet, singing along into the mic.

When she looks across the stage, Raven's grinning at her while she sings. Clarke dances across the stage, stopping in front of Lexa. They're at the chorus and Lexa grins, her fingers moving quickly and confidently on her guitar. Her eyes hold Clarke's like a command and Clarke listens like she's hearing a sermon directed only at her.

She feels sweat on her forehead and heat in her cheeks, lights and fog flashing around her. She beams at Lexa and leans closer, their fingers almost touching as they strum together.

Lexa quirks an eyebrow and Clarke winks, causing Lexa to grin at her. There's electricity around them, like static and stardust, and Raven's voice slips between them, gearing up for the final repetition of the chorus.

Clarke slides back to her side of the stage for the final lines of the song, humming into the mic as Octavia finishes strong on the drums. The song cuts off, blasting them into a millisecond of a silence before the room erupts in a song of applause.

"Thanks again!" Raven whoops into the mic with a laugh. "We are The Alliance and goodnight!"

Clarke feels her heartbeat in every centimeter of her body, hyperaware of the whistles and the lights and the stage under her feet.

She pushes into the wings, the rest of them following quickly behind her. She sets her bass carefully against the wall with quivering hands. She's shaking with adrenaline and Octavia's jumping up and down, fist in the air, smile turned toward the ceiling. Raven whoops again, laughing, and pulls Clarke into a hug.

"That was amazing! We were amazing!" She screams into Clarke's ear and Clarke laughs, squeezing her back.

She's at a loss for words as Raven lets go, but Raven seems to understand, grinning at her one last time before joining Octavia in a weird dance that involves a lot of chest bumping.

"Clarke!" Lexa grabs her shoulder, eyes shining brightly and teeth flashing in a smile Clarke's never seen her wear before. Clarke stares, mouth open, heat rushing to her cheeks.

She looks back up at Lexa's eyes and something clicks inside her, an electric shot of realization. She stands up on her toes, fingers coming forward to grab Lexa's leather jacket.

When their lips meet, heat shoots up Clarke's spine. She lets out a small gasp, breath getting caught in her throat. She feels Lexa's hands grab her, one in her hair, the other around her waist.

Her heartbeat thumps in her skull, and she's acutely aware of Lexa's nose brushing hers, her thumb on Clarke's cheek.

There's a loud whoop from behind her again, but she ignores it.

"Get it, Griffin!" She thinks that's Bellamy, but she's very pointedly not listening.

Lexa pulls back slightly and Clarke can feel her smiling. She leans back in, connecting their lips again. Lexa's tongue slides against her own and Clarke lets out a tiny squeak.

"Damn, Commander has gaaaaame." That's definitely Raven and Clarke snorts, having to pull away from Lexa as a laugh bubbles out of her throat.

"I have game, Clarke." Lexa murmurs against her lips and Clarke fully leans back now, clutching her side as laughter pours out of her, a release of happiness and pride and adrenaline.

She spins around, her back leaning into Lexa's front. "Fuck off," she says, but she's smiling.

Clarke rolls her eyes at their little group, huddled together backstage. Raven gives her a thumbs up and Wick, who has an arm around her shoulder, wolf-whistles. Octavia and Lincoln are making out against the wall, but apparently they're all so used to it that the rest of them don't even notice. Bellamy is high-fiving Monty and Jasper, who are excitedly bantering back and forth.

"We'll be announcing the winner in two minutes time, folks, so stick around!" The emcee's voice buzzes over the speakers and Clarke feels her heartbeat kick back up.

She turns back around to face Lexa.

"Hey," she says.

Lexa snorts out a small laugh. "Hi." She brings her thumb up to Clarke's cheek. "You have face paint on you." She licks her thumb and rubs it over Clarke's cheek gently. Clarke pulls her hand away, intertwining their fingers.

"Don't bother. I'm just going to get more on my face anyway." She quirks an eyebrow and a flash of understanding passes across Lexa's face. Clarke grins, grabbing Lexa's hips and pushing her against a table with spare equipment on it.

She brings their lips back together, Lexa letting out a small moan as Clarke deepens the kiss.

* * *

"In third place… Atom and the Delinquents!"

Bellamy boos loudly from somewhere behind them, but Clarke almost doesn't hear it when Lexa slides a hand into her hair and pulls her closer.

"In second place… we have… ICE NATION!"

Clarke slides her tongue out to meet Lexa's, exhaling loudly at the feeling. She feels pleasure splash into her stomach, humming happily into Lexa's mouth.

"And this year's winner, receiving five hundred dollars and 25 hours of studio time to produce an EP with Chancellor Records is… THE ALLIANCE!"

Clarke presses Lexa further into the table, their hips connecting.

"OH MY GOD! WE WON!"

Lexa leans back and Clarke chases after her, eyes still closed.

"We won?" Lexa asks.

"GRIFF, WE WON!" Raven tugs on her sleeve, and Clarke opens her eyes.

"We what?" She says. "We won?"

Lexa's mouth falls open at the same time Clarke registers what's happening. Bellamy has lifted Octavia in the air, spinning her around.

"Put me down, Bell!" She laughs giddily and Bellamy sets her down.

Raven grabs her by the arm, dragging her toward the stage. Clarke grabs Lexa's hand, pulling her after them.

"We won, Clarke," Lexa says in awe.

"We won," Clarke repeats in a daze, allowing Raven to drag them to the middle of the stage where the emcee stands, a giant check in his hands.

Raven accepts the check to an outburst of cheering from the audience, turning toward the rest of them with a huge smile. Clarke still has a tight grip on Lexa's hand as Raven pulls them into a hug, her arms coming around both of them. Octavia presses against Clarke's side, her fist high in the air in victory.

"We won," Clarke says again, and as her friends press around her in a group hug, laughing and smiling, Clarke realizes she never imagined that they'd ever end up here.

For the first time since she can remember, Clarke doesn't worry or stress. In the rush of the moment, with Raven's arm around her shoulder and Lexa's nose in her hair, she just lets herself be happy.

And everything is perfect.

* * *

**AN: **Hi everyone! Thanks for reading my little story. Look out in the future... I have some ideas in mind for a sequel I plan on tackling during the summer. However, I'm thinking of starting a princess mechanic fic in the near future so if you're into that... keep an eye open! Thanks for reading! (And I guess if you're interested in the sequel or have anything you'd like to see written, either in this universe or something entirely different, feel free to come scream at me. I'm always open to ideas!) PS I AM NOW AT TUMBLR URL: whoiselizabethchilds


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